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Thursday, February 2, 2017

Nashville Registry on Pedestrian Deaths

According to Smart Growth America's Dangerous by Design report (January 2017, https://smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design/), Nashville-Davidson Co ranks poorly in regards to pedestrian deaths. We are currently listed as the 37th most dangerous city in the US viewed from individuals struck and killed by cars when walking per population. This a terrible and complicated statistic.

Anyone who has taken a walk in Nashville knows this. Nashville pedestrians know too well about 'close calls'. Mayor Barry has stated that 'Vision Zero' is a goal for Nashville but we have a long way to go to reach this goal. Our infrastructure (ie: sidewalks, crosswalk, laws) is severely wanting. We also do not fully understand why pedestrians do the things they do that can be perceived as a dangerous choice such as crossing mid-block. This leads to a lot of 'blaming the victim' which may not be true or fair.

There is currently no registry to track information on those pedestrians killed in Nashville. The media and the police often have a fairly simplistic report that may not delve into specifics that are critical to understanding why these events occur. In addition, we do not often hear the personal stories of these unfortunate individuals as to why they were walking when and where they chose.

The Nashville Registry on Pedestrian Deaths would be a place to gather the story around each and every pedestrian death ongoing and retrospectively.

Goals:

Dedicated Nashville registry for pedestrian deaths

To collect the stories and specifics of each and every pedestrian fatality in Nashville

Describe the events surrounding fatal events for further study and improved comprehension

Dispel myths that are associated with pedestrian deaths by fleshing out the details

Provide families with a place to obtain accurate information

Provide families with a place to share their stories

Sources will include police reports, media reports, informants and direct contact with family members. The data will be limited to Nashville-Davidson County. I have 3 estimates out on the cost to develop a well-designed website with the highest being about $10k. The Nashville Registry on Pedestrian Deaths will be loosely based on a similar website created for homicides in Los Angeles and will include a map, photos and blog style reports of each fatality. To visualize, see: http://homicide.latimes.com

I should have a link for fund raising very soon that is specific to this project. As of now, if you would like to donate, you can do so through my non-profit, The Sidewalk Foundation: http://thesidewalkfoundation.org

Please donate and share if you support furthering our understanding of pedestrian deaths in Nashville.

If you know someone who has perished while walking & would like to share their story - please contact me at thesidewalkfoundation@gmail.com